Some Reasons To Love Blacksburg

When I lived in Philadelphia there were certain things I would rave about regarding the wonderful state of Virginia and the town known as Blacksburg. One of those simply put is that I believe Virginia to be "the earthly promised land." And with that in mind check out these pics below to prove it!

Mill Mountain, one of the local coffee shops-the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted

the Cascades-Nic & I hiked this past Saturday for two miles to see this beauty, with all the greenery it looked like a postcard

Last Stop on the Highway

It seems we've been on the road a lot lately, tonight we're in Atlanta to celebrate the wedding of our good friend Zack Reuter and his fiancee Meredith. We left Blacksburg this morning, stopped in Elkin, NC for lunch at Bojangles (where an old man who we couldn't understand very well preached the gospel to us in line) and with only a few stops in between made it here to Snellville just in time for the rehearsal.

I've decided that going to/ being in weddings has become one of my favorite pastimes. Not only do we get to share in our good friend's special days and be reminded of our own vows we made two years ago but it's a huge reunion of old friends. This wedding is especially exciting because it's an intersection of people from all parts of our lives (Nic's childhood/adolescence & both of our college years). It was really fun to listen to people share stories tonight about Meredith & Zack, both separately and as a couple, so congrats to the happy couple!

First Week of Work

Vacation is officially over, and we have arrived here in Blacksburg. It's been a really busy few days for us, but it's really great to be here. We had a great time hanging out in Nashville with the Reuters , my brother Randy, his girlfriend Sam, and my parents. Some of the highlights of that trip included exploring East Nashville, taking in some good old country & western music at a bar downtown, and a dinner party that included a very spirited game of extreme Uno. April and I even got to go wander around the enormous lobbies of the Opryland Hotel, which I must admit was impressive.

We rolled into town Sunday afternoon and had some wonderful friends here that helped us move all of our stuff from the basement to the apartment, unpack a lot of it, and even put some of our furniture back together. Due to our other staff members going out of town, we had to jump right into work Monday morning, so we're still putting our apartment together - it's finally getting close.

The first day of work was nothing like my other jobs. I don't have a cubicle (April and I share a sweet office), I didn't have to get my picture taken for a badge, and I didn't have to sit through boring presentations about workplace ethics and 401k options. We spent the morning assigning responsibilities for the upcoming school year. I have a few things on my plate that I'm really excited about and are areas that I feel very passionate about (such as working with Bible study leaders, men's discipleship, and website/network maintenance) and a few that are new to me, but that I'm excited to see how God uses me and teaches me through them (such as international student ministry and building repair).

We've had the chance to meet a lot of the students who are here for the summer at Bible study and prayer time. Things are pretty sleepy around Blacksburg right now, but in a few short weeks the place will be busy with activity, and I'm sure everything here will seem crazy. I'm not sure that I'm prepared for that, but it's going to be a fun year - I can tell already!

Hanging at the Lake

As of right now, April and I are homeless. All of our stuff (except for some clothes to wear) is in the basement of our new apartment building in Blacksburg, and we're living with family for awhile. Fortunately for us, that includes spending a week at the Uebel's lake house on Indian Lake in Russell's Point, OH. It is a beautiful drive up here, through the corn and soybeans in the heart of Ohio. I'm even lucky enough to be able to get (steal) just enough wireless internet sitting on the back porch every once in a while to check my email. The ducks in the lake are driving Mabel crazy. She'll run to the end of every dock and bark at them, but can't seem to muster up the courage to jump in the lake and chase them. I don't think she's relaxed for a second since we arrived due to the constant duck hunting.

The move to Blacksburg went well for us. Thanks to the Travises and our friend Mike, we loaded up the U-Haul and cleaned the apartment in what seemed like no time, even though it was an exhausting day. 8 hours and about $350 of gas later, we arrived in Blacksburg in one piece.

Even though we've been looking forward to this move for a long time, April and I both had a weird feeling walking the streets of Blacksburg again. It's going to take us a while to get used to living there again. I guess I felt a little out of place being back in a college town and not being a student. Or maybe Philadelphia has claimed more of my affection than I'll admit and I'll have to learn to embrace small town life again. Whatever the reason is, I'm looking forward to getting over my awkwardness and embracing the community. I didn't do that much as a student, and I've learned in the past couple of years just how important it is for me to be a part of the community around me.

The rest of our vacation plans will take us back through Cincinnati and then down to Nashville to hang out with my brother and the newly married Reuters. Then our break will be over and we'll be starting our new jobs at the BCM!















The view from the back porch here at the lake house.
















Mabel stalking the ducks.















Swimming with Mabel.

No Turning Back

The last day of work here in Philadelphia finally arrived today for the Uebels. For me, it was filled with paperwork, HR, debriefings, and handshakes as I bid farewell to my coworkers and left New Jersey for the last time in the foreseeable future. I will miss my work at Lockheed Martin and in the government software field in general. I've met many great and intelligent people in my line of work, and have been challenged and satisfied intelectually. It's odd to me that my work will no longer revolve around for-loops and algorithm efficiency calculations, logical constructs that I can wrap my mind around, but will instead focus on the intangiables of people, relationships, and God. My logical, engineer brain does not feel as confident with those tasks.

I tend to be very dramatic (at least in my head) on days like this. I find myself thinking things like "This is the last time I'll check in code" or "This is the last time I'll drive over the Ben Franklin Bridge". I guess it feels like today should be monumental, so I try to build it up, but it ends up feeling like just another day where I got off work early and took an afternoon nap.

So now the boxes are mostly packed, the aparment is painted completely white, April's parents are on their way here on a plane, and all that's left to do is pack up the U-Haul tomorrow and make the trek to Blacksburg with our stuff on Friday. Mabel has been beside herself with all of this business and rearranging things around the apartment. Little does she know that the patterns of life that she is so used to are about to be turned upside down.

There ain't no stoppin us now.

4 weeks and counting!

Bear with me a second as I go back to my roots. Remember that song Time Is... where the artists formerly known as DC Talk sing Time Is Tickin' Away, Tick Tick Tickin' Away, yea that's right I just took you back 16 years(man has it really been that long?). Anyways that's exactly how Nic & I are feeling right now.

We officially leave Philly July 11, which is somewhat surreal and crazy to think about. I must note however that it depends what day you ask me if I'm excited to leave or not. Today was one of those days where I can't wait to be back in the great Blue Ridge Mountains but I digress. The next few weekends are pretty jam packed for us but we honestly wouldn't have it any other way. Our prayer for the last few weeks has been to finish well and though that can be challenging at times I feel like God has provided that for us.

Last night was our last 'official' small group and though it was sad it was really encouraging to see people not only reflecting on the past but looking towards the future as well. So just like we ended small group last night I ask you the same question-what are your hopes for the future? What do you want to see really happen over the next year? I know I've got a list going already.

The Big Decisions

I've had to make a few choices that were sure to define the next few years of my life. Where should I go to college? Should I ask April to marry me? Should I take a job in Philadelphia? The decision making process for me usually looks like this: think and pray about what I want to do, look for opportunities in the direction I feel is right, take a few small steps in that direction, and repeat. Eventually though, I come to a point of no return where I must make a definite decision, regardless of the fact that I have no assurance that what I'm about to do is right. This always makes even the most simple of tasks seem like a nail biting experience like pacing around the fax machine that holds my job acceptance letter, trying to talk myself into hitting the send button. When April and I started feeling a desire to work full-time with college students, the process was very similar.

Due to the positive experience we had being a part of a collegiate ministry as students, April and I have a shared passion for seeing God work in the lives of college students that led us to talk about working full-time in college ministry from even before we got married. After taking a few years to just be married, we decided to start pursuing this passion. Many small steps later, we had the opportunity to either accept the position at Virginia Tech or push it off and stay here in Philadelphia for at least a little while longer. We had no guarantees that we would like this, be good at it, or not regret the decision for the rest of our lives, but we did know that God had put this desire in both of us and that he had brought us this far already.

So it was with a very shaky voice that a few months ago I told the director over the phone that we accepted the position, a decision which will certainly define our lives for the next few years. We are now in the process of preparing everything for our move to Blacksburg, and even now we have seen God provide for us in many ways in response to pursuing the desire he put inside of us. We are still scared and at times unsure of this next step, but excited to see what God will do through us in the lives of college students.